I hate it when I do this, but I think we're all guilty of judging products by their cover from time to time. Fortunately, we have a God who keeps us in check by humbling us every once in awhile. Such was the case when an album called Traveling Light landed on my desk. I barely glanced at it, too busy with other daily responsibilities to look beyond a few words such as "Songs from the 23rd Psalm" and "Inspired by the writings of Max Lucado." I almost immediately placed the album in my "to listen" pile and filed it in my brain as "product" — a term a friend of mine uses to refer to albums hastily made to capitalize on a brand name, sell a related book, or simply sell a lot of units for little cost. I think what may have thrown me was the record label, Creative Trust Workshop. It's a brand-new record label that started out of Creative Trust Entertainment, a group of artist managers responsible for the likes of Steven Curtis Chapman, Third Day, and Mark Schultz. If you read how and why the record label started, it almost sounds like a marketing plan — virtually straightforward confirmation of my "product" fears. Thank God I do eventually listen to everything that comes my way! Don't make the same mistake I made. Do yourself a favor and make every attempt to listen to
There are three things not readily apparent about
For those not familiar with the title,
There's an impressive lineup of artists on this album, though you may not be instantly familiar with all of them. Fans of The Choir will enjoy the fact that Steve lends his percussion skills to most of the songs, and Derri Daughtery does the same with his guitar work. Featured artists include Amy Grant ("Gentle Shepherd"), Tait ("Following Me"), and Jaci Velasquez ("In Green Pastures," the album's first single). I also was impressed to see the inclusion of two fantastic husband-wife duos. Adore is comprised of Marc Byrd and his wife, Christine Glass. They recently were signed to Squint and make a fine alternative-pop debut here with "I Will Not Fear." Fleming & John are a critical favorite, but they're probably some of the most under-appreciated artists in Christian music. They perform a wonderful modern arrangement (by John) of the classic hymn "Savior Like a Shepherd Lead Us." Then there are the artist pairings, which are as good as those found on the
I'll admit I was skeptical about two other tracks — a duet by Russ Taff and Max Lucado's daughter Jenna on "Let It Flow," and another duet by Derri Daugherty and Brown Bannister's daughter Ellie on "Rest in Me." You might say I suffered preconceptions twice with this album, since both women are up to the task of contributing their voices to the music. "Rest in Me" is particularly effective as a McCartney-esque lullaby/duet between our heavenly Father (sung by Derri) and we, his children (Ellie Bannister). The creation of the new CTW record label and this album may have stemmed from a marketing plan, but all of the ingredients for a successful album are here: well-written music, sure and steady production, and strong artistic performances. Maybe that's why it's called creative marketing, since assembling the talent for an album as terrific as